Natural Options to Reverse Parkinsons Symptoms

Month: May 2009

Results from Detoxing Your Body

This is a letter that I received that I received permission to post about detoxing your body. It is certainly a powerful statement about the results that are possible with a detox program and a healthy diet.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Founder 2004
Parkinsons Recovery

I was diagnosed with advanced Parkinson’s Disease and if I believed in traditional allopathic medicine then I would have had little hope. I started researching on my own and was shocked at the information that is readily available to the public regarding industrial toxins and toxins that we ingest from pharmaceuticals. It is no surprise that physicians/hospitals/pharmaceuticals are the number one cause of death in the United States.Fortunately medicine is changing and medical schools are starting to segregate themselves from big pharma opting to teach healing and restoration of the body.

I no longer have any symptoms of Parkinson’s but I had to start at the basics, detoxing my body of harmful contaminants and toxic chemicals, that also including the poison that was prescribed for Parkinson’s which causes the very symptoms it is purported to relieve. To optimize my health I had to stop buying fruits and vegetable in regular grocery stores, instead I bought only organic fruits and vegetables including all groceries. MSG is in almost 75% of products sold in grocery stores although hidden under a different name, we ingest about one gallon of pesticides a year from buying fruits and vegetables from regular stores.

The heart of the matter is there is some action that we can take to better care for our health and that of our children. It requires that we educate ourselves from sources that are not self serving or radical, alternative medicine is filled with charlatans and can be every bit as harmful as the continued overuse of over the counter and prescription drugs.

There are physicians trained these days in the area of nutrition and using a combination of traditional medicine with medicine of the east commonly referred to as integrative medicine. In addition there is an emerging field of physicians that practice what is called functional medicine which believes at getting to the cause of the health issues rather then simply prescribing a medication to deal with the symptoms which invariably cause additional problems.

I actually don’t have much in the way of answers but do know that education and acting on what we know will improve the quality of our lives exponentially. I wish all of you a wonderful Memorial Weekend and God’s Peace.

Bobby

Fava Bean Tincture

I have had Parkinsons for 20 years and have just started growing my own Fava Beans . We read that the leaves and stems have dopamine also and so decided to try leaf tea and steamed leaves. So far after a week, we are obtaining good results .In am interested in knowing more about the fava bean tincture.

We would like to know if any other Parkinson’s patient you have interviewed have used the leaves or leaf tea?

Patricia

I have talked with one woman with Parkinsons who also grows her own fava beans with resounding success. She lives in a relatively cold climate. Her season for growing the plants is relatively short which poses unique challenges for her.

Aunt Bean grows fava bean plants every summer on her farm in Tennessee. She harvests the tips of the plants at the end of the summer and uses them to make a fava bean tincture which she takes to suppress her symptoms. Instructions on how to make the fava bean tincture are available on the Parkinsons Recovery fava bean website:

https://www.favabeans.parkinsonsrecovery.com 

Some people purchase fava beans from commercial sources. I have received many inquires asking what company is a reliable source. Here is what I have discovered. Some companies send out high quality fava beans which work beautifully for people, then send a batch which fizzles. To my knowledge, there is no reliable commercial source of fava beans.

Why is this? They are not grown in the wild. Here is what I learned about herbs like fava beans in my interview with Andrew Bentley who is a herbalist. Andrew is one of the 14 pioneers I interview for the Pioneers of Recovery.

Andrew tells me he also has not found a reliable, high quality source of fava beans for his own clients. This is quite amazing news, since his job as a herbalist is to use natural herbs to help people get well.

Andrew explains in Pioneers of Recovery that herbs need to be grown in the wild in order to carry the energetic punch that is essential for making the herbs work well. His argument makes good sense to me. Herbs grown in the wild are infused with the energy or the earth. Herbs grown in commercial fields lack this divine infusion of healing energy. Andrew harvests all his herbs in the wild. He purchases nothing from commercial companies.

Growing your own fava beans may be just like growing them in the wild. I would encourage anyone with the symptoms of Parkinsons to follow your lead. Ingesting fava beans does help many people get relief from their symptoms. Other people supplement their regular medications with fava beans and find they are able to reduce their dosage significantly. As with any herbal therapy, everyone does not see significant relief but many are.

Some people order fava beans from a commercial source, found it did not make any difference and concluded that the bean does not help give them relief from symptoms. It is very possible that the problem was not the fava bean itself, but the source from where it was acquired.

Please keep us all appraised of your exciting project.

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Founder 2004
Parkinsons Recovery

Treatment Protocols for Parkinsons

Do you have any testimonials from individuals that have recovered from PD using your treatment protocols for Parkinsons? Why aren’t you on Larry King or Oprah?

Without validity, your claims are the same as other people. Where are the recovered people?

The best, John

Thanks so much for your questions. I do not have a “protocol” that I advocate. I am a researcher gathering information from people who are recovering from Parkinson’s.

I do not make any claims to be sure about any approach or remedy or treatment, though many people I interview or who are on my radio program give testimonials about what they are doing to feel a lot better.

I believe the causes of Parkinsons are multifaceted, so different treatments will help depending on the persons individual situation. Let me know if there is a “claim” that I have made or written about. I will need to revisit that writing and clarify the presentation.

The first round of field research is reported in Pioneers of Recovery . Two of the people I interview in the book have recovered fully. Others are on the road to recovery. The Pioneers talk about what they are doing to get relief from their symptoms.

I totally agree with you that it is important to present evidence that natural treatment protocols for Parkinsons are effective. That is the road I am taking with my research.

I just released Five Steps to Recovery  which is all about thoughts and how they help or obstruct healing. Again, there is no protocol here, just support to people  who want to sustain positive thinking about their recovery.

All the best,

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Parkinsons Recovery

One Man’s Story with Parkinsons

Dear Dr. Rodgers,

Just a note to thank you for putting out this program for Parkinson’s Recovery and the research that you are doing on it. I don’t know what I would do without it. You offer an alternative way of thinking. The path of recovery, as you said, is effortless. I have not found anything that hard to do. It may be hard to find out WHAT to do. I have come to the place of dealing with exercise. I found someone on-line to help me with that, at least help me to ease into weightlifting and bodybuilding again.

The person who asks what supplements to take haunts my mind. In this program, nobody is going to cure anything. What we are about is setting up the conditions for the body to heal itself, whether it is supplements, exercise, imagery, prayer, or counseling. Some of the resources will not be Parkinson’s-related but are good for the condition. My book on imagery for health by Belleruth Naparstek is excellent, but there is no mention of Parkinson’s in the book. All the principles and exercises can be applied to my or anyone’s condition of Parkinson’s.

As for me, I mention PD only when I have to refer to it to avoid ironing it in to my mind or anyone else’s mind. I have not told my closest friends. To those who ask, I say “I have a problem in my nervous system and motor control.” I avoid reading material on PD that does not have recovery as the underlying theme.

I already tried what I call “the medical model” for a year and a half: incurable disease with the cause not completely understood that will get worse. I received several healings by faith during that time, so I kept positive that way. However, I realized that I was living the medical model…and getting its results, too! I wanted something different, ways to help myself. Trying again, because my pastor told me to find a support group (which I didn’t want either), I found this website of Robert Rodgers on Parkinson’s recovery.

I thought that I should write this in case it will help someone.

Still going,

Alan

My thanks to Alan for sharing his experience with all of us.

Robert Rodgers PhD
Founder 2004
Parkinsons Recovery

Problems with Crowns

Many people have concerns over the possibility metal crowns might be a factor that is contributing to their symptoms. To explore the possibility I might have problems with crowns,  I interviewed Simon King, a chiropractor from a town just north of London, England. During my interview with Simon I discovered that one of my metal crowns appeared to be interrupting the signals that are continuously being exchanged between my brain and my muscles. Simon explained that this problem would lead to serious health challenges for me down the line.

I decided to replace the metal crown. My dentist completed replacement of my problematic metal crown with a non-metal crown. The new crown is called a lava crown which is a type of hand pressed glass material. It is very durable and non toxic.

It has now been four weeks since the replacement. Before I had problems swallowing pills. That challenge has eased considerably. I have no more sore throats or sore gums. I have more energy. I hear more clearly. It doesn’t hurt now to chew food. All in all I would say it was a good decision to replace the metal crown.

If you have an intuition that you might have problems with crowns I invite you to listen to my interview with Simon:

If you are motivated to explore this option further, you can check out a listing of holistic dentists (primarily in the US) who are have special training in the replacement of metal fillings or crowns with non-metalic material. This particular group of dentists call themselves holistic dentists. They are concerned about the potential health problems that metal crowns might be causing for people.

Do we know for sure whether metal in your mouth can cause the symptoms of Parkinsons. There is no definitive research on the matter. Speaking intuitively, my body feels stronger, lighter and healthier now that the metal has been removed from my mouth.

If you have any personal experience with getting metal removed from your teeth, please comment! Some people with the symptoms of Parkinsons tell me that they experience little difference after getting the metal removed. Other people tell me they notice a huge  improvement.

If there is an ounce of a chance it might help, the issue surely merits further investigation. If you have had any personal experience with metal crowns or fillings, please comment!

Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Founder 2004
Parkinsons Recovery